By Nneka Nwogwugwu
The Coega Development Corporation (CDC) has announced that it is extending its external advisory services and expertise beyond national borders as part of the Coega Africa Programme.
“Final negotiations between Senegalese Investment Agency, PAIMRAI, and the CDC have recently concluded with the CDC and Automotive Investment Holdings (AIH) being appointed to elaborate a strategy for the development of the automotive industry in Senegal,” CDC Head of Marketing, Brand and Communications, Dr Ayanda Vilakazi, said on Monday.
The announcement follows this year’s Intra-African Trade Fair Conference, which took place from 15 – 21 November 2021 under the theme African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) – a single market for goods and services across 55 countries, aimed at boosting trade and investment.
Vilakazi said the Sub-Sahara Africa automotive sector currently accounts for less than 3% of global production, against 30% for China, 22% for Europe and 17% for North America.
“The motorisation rate in this region was very low in 2018, with 42 cars per 1 000 inhabitants, against 837 in the United States, 173 in China and 214 in South Africa, for a world average of 180 cars per 1 000 inhabitants. This rate hardly exceeds 3% in Senegal, which means that only 30 people out of 1 000 own a private vehicle,” he said.
Apart from Nigeria and Ghana, the automotive industry remains nascent in the member countries of the Economic Community of West African States, whose process of industrialisation faces the threat of used car imports from Europe, Japan, United States, Canada, and other countries.
The appointment of the CDC sees the organisation expanding its project footprint throughout the continent, with projects currently in Zimbabwe, Cameroon for the Central African Republic, and now Senegal.
Drawing from 21 years of expertise in project managing mega and complex infrastructure projects in South Africa for public and private sector, the Coega SEZ has successfully developed its Automotive Zone and attracted investment exceeding USD 895 million.
Source: SA news
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